


Tales from Ruboria

by 275Pandir



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Pokemon Gym Leaders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:15:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25785013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/275Pandir/pseuds/275Pandir
Summary: A collection of One shots from the Ruboria Region of an upcomig pokemon romhack. Every fic will deal with a different gym leader, so stay tuned!





	1. Chapter 1

Tales from Ruboria 

Chapter 1: Fernando 

"Where's the gym leader?" 

Outside of the Flare City Gym, stood a girl. She had blue hair and wore a black dress underneath her red ace trainer jacket. Her shoes were simple sneakers and next to her a Corphish stood there and eyed confused at the trainer. With a sigh, the strange girl banged at the door again. 

"Come on, why's the gym closed in the middle of the day?! Where the heck is the gym leader!", she screamed wildly and started to punch at the door, but to no avail. Before the girl could land another punch, a voice suddenly interrupted her. 

"Why are you so angry, buddy?" 

The girl turned around and saw a man approaching her. He looked like he was in his late twenties and he just wore a white suit with a red cravat that fit really well to his short brown hair. With a gasp, the girl realized who this person was. 

It was Federico Lux, the champ of the Ruboria region! 

"C-champ Lux!", the teen stammered surprised. Said champ gave the girl a friendly smile.

"Oh please buddy, just call me Rico. I really dislike formalities ya' see. Now what was wrong just now? You looked even more angry than a Primeape." 

As fast as the rage disappeared, as fast it did return. Immediately, the teen's face turned into a frown. 

" Well I want to challenge the gym leader, but he's not here! I've been waiting for over an hour for the gym to open, but it is still closed! It is 2 PM for Arceus' sake, so the gym leader should be here!" Rico looked slowly at the red gym building and then sighed. 

" Yeah he isn't in the gym very often.", he replied with an annoyed face. Then he gave the girl a smile. "But, no worries I'll bring this little rascal back to the gym in no time. Just wait!" And with that, he took out his pokeball and summoned Dungelo (an evolution of Dunsparce, that was a dragon type now). He jumped on the pokemon's back and then shouted: 

" Bring me to the stony field!" 

The dragon pokemon nodded and then began to take flight with high speed, leaving a stunned trainer behind. 

——————————————————

"Are you ready to film, Talonflamme?" 

That question came from a boy with a spiky blonde hair and tanned skin. He only wore a white undershirt and sat on a red bike. With a determined expression, he looked at a ramp, that stood before a huge sea of hot lava. The boy looked at a Talonflame, who held a camera in its beak and nodded. The boy smirked. 

"Okay, it is time for Stunt Rider Fernando to shine!", he leaned itself forward and braced himself. But before he could even start the engine, the motorcycle started to levitate! That caused the boy to yelp in surprise and to fall off the vehicle. With horror Fernando watched, as the motorcycle fell into the pool of lava. 

"There's no time to screw around Fernando!", said an angry voice. The teen turned around and saw Federico Lux on top of Dungelo, who was glowing purple because it used Psychic. The champ looked annoyed at the boy, who scowled in return. 

"The heck was that for?! Do you know how much my motorcycle had cost? You can't just do that!", he exclaimed angrily. With a sigh, the champ pointed at Fernando. 

“I told you a number of times, that you can’t just run away from your duty as a gym leader. You can do your stunts after the gym has closed. How often do you intend to ignore your job?” The gym-leader only pouted as a response.

“But I don’t want to do my stunts later, I want to do them now! Doing stunts in the dark is super boring after all!”, he whined with fake tears coming out from his eyes. “I won’t let you boss me around, Talonflamme let’s fly away!” With that, his Talonflame flew towards Fernando, who jumped on the bird and flew away, with Lux watching as he leaves. Dungelo wanted to chase after him, but Lux held up his hand.

“Leave him be for now. I think this time we should leave him alone and see how things will go from there. If he doesn’t return till the next hour, I’ll replace him.”, he said calmly and watched as Talonflame and Ferdinando got smaller and smaller in the distance.  
________________________________________

Ferdinando and Talonflame flew with fast speed through the region. It is not fair! All he wants to do is to have some fun! Ever since he became a gym leader, he had not much time for his stunts. All he has to everyday, is to take challengers and battle them! Not that it is bad, but it really gets repetitive over time. “Maybe I should just quit being a gym leader altogether.”, Fernando thought to himself. As he flew over the grand dessert, he suddenly saw a figure lying in the sand! 

“Talonflame, fly down!”, the gym leader ordered and the bird pokemon immediately flew down to where the person lay. Fernando jumped off from his pokemon and then shook the man a few times, but to no avail. 

“What should I do?”, he asked himself panicky. He searched around the area quickly and try to find something. But apart from sand, there was nothing. All of a sudden, the man slowly stood up and groaned a bit. Now that he stood there fully you could see what his attire was. The strange man only wore clothes that fit with an Indiana. His hair was fiery red and the man himself seemed as if he was over 50 years old. He gave a heartful laugh, as he stared down at the gym leader. 

“Thanks for waking me up buddy! I must have fallen asleep in the desert.”, he said smiling, as he grabbed a water bottle that was attached to a belt with pokeballs. He opened the bottle, drank from it and then reattached it to his belt. Fernando only stared at the gym leader confused.

“How can you be so calm? You were lucky that I found you! If I didn’t, then you would have ended up dead!”, he exclaimed shocked. To his surprise, the strange person just laughed warmly.

“I suppose you’re right, I would be dead. But hey, I’m not and that’s great! Thanks to you!” He then mustered Fernando a bit more and then he put a hand on his chin. 

“Say, aren’t you the gym leader of Flare City?”, he asked. Fernando nodded shortly.

“That’s true man. But honestly, I think I want to quit being the gym leader.” Alder’s happy expression turned into a puzzled one. 

“You want to quit? Why’s that?” Fernando took a deep breath and listed the man all of his problems, on how exhausting it is to be a gym leader and how he can’t do his stunts as often as he wanted. During the explanation, the strange man listened carefully and eyed Fernando with thought. When the gym leader was finished, Alder looked at Fernando straight in the eyes.

“Seems you have a lot on your mind now. But let me ask you this.” He coughed a bit. “Why did you become the gym leader in the first place, if you dislike the position this much?” 

Fernando went quiet. Why did he become a gym leader in the first place? He hasn’t asked this question to himself a long time ago. Even though he remembers. Oh yes he remembers very well. 

______________________________________________________________________________  
A few months earlier: 

Fernando was driving on a motorcycle through the streets of Flare City. It was such a great night! A beautiful sky, a shining moon and empty streets! Just how he liked it! He inhaled the nightwind happily! Nothing could ruin this perfect moment! 

Until he heard a scream that is! Fernando stopped the vehicle immediately, stood up and sighed. What a cliché situation. He then followed the screams, until he found them coming from a small alley. Fernando peeked around the corner and saw a small boy covering in front of a big fat man. 

“Gimme you money!”, said the man menacingly and smirked. “Or else, I’ll break more than just your bones! 

The boy whimpered in fear and had tears in his eyes, as the big man came closer and closer. Fernando could no longer stand it to see the boy suffer. He took out his pokemon and summoned a Fletchinder. 

“Use Flamethrower!”

The flying type pokemon released a bunch of flames at the man. The latter turned around in shock and ran away panicked. When he left the alley, Fernando approached the small boy, who stopped crying and looked up to him. 

“Are you ok buddy?”, asked the teen. The boy nodded slowly.

“Y-yeah I’m fine. Thanks mister.”, he replied, while still sobbing a bit. “You saved me this time.” That surprised Fernando.

“This time? Has this happened before?” Again, the boy nodded. 

“Yes sir. Every night he brings me to this alley and forces me to give my money or else he’d take my clothes off. My pokemon couldn’t do anything!” He pointed at a Negamid (a dark colored pokemon with blue fur) that laid on the ground unconsciously.  
“I tried telling the police, but all they said was that they didn’t care in the slightest.”

Fernando felt how the rage grew in him inside. He absolutely hated it, whenever someone was bullied. And to see that the police don't do anything to help is really irritating. Fernando felt like he had to do something! But what? Then he remembered that the recent gym leader of Flare City had passed away and that Lux is looking now for replacements. That’s it! He’ll become the new gym leader! With him, the trainers could learn to become strong! Strong enough to stand up to all the injustice! Fernando put a hand on the smaller boy’s shoulder and smiled warmly.

“Don’t worry buddy boy. I’ll make sure that this won’t happen again. For now, take your pokemon to the pokemon center and then go home to your parents. Tell them anything, I’m sure they’ll help you. Do you want me to take you home?” The boy’s sad expression disappeared slowly and was replaced by a happy grin.

“Thanks Mister, but I can find my way home alone. I’ll really thank you for your help Mister! ” He then frowned all of a sudden. “But I want to be able to defend myself. I don’t want to see Negamid getting hurt by bad people. “ Fernando gave a peace sign.

“Hey no worries, the gym will open up soon I’m sure of it! There you and Negamid can come up and train there!” The boy looked confused at Fernando. 

“How can you be so sure that the gym will reopen sir?” The older teen only smiled, gave Fletchinder a short sign to follow him and then left the alley. He stopped for a second and turned around with a confident smile.

“Because I’ll be the new fire type gym leader.”

And with that, he finally left the alley while the boy watched him leaving astounded.

_______________________________________________________________________

Fernando wanted to slap yourself. How could he forget that memory? If he wants to make his dream a reality, then he has to fulfill his responsibility as a gym leader! The strange man noticed Fernando’s surprised expression and then laughed heartily. 

“I’m assuming you remembered the reason?”, he asked and Fernando nodded in response. 

“Yes I did. As the gym leader of Flare City I have a responsibility to fulfill. As much as I love my stunts, I can’t let that distract me from my job.”, he replied slowly. Smiling, the strange person put a hand on Fernando’s shoulder. 

“It is okay to take some time off from your duties.”, he started and then looked seriously at the gym leader. “But if you don’t do your duties, then you’ll disappoint many people who count on you. I learned this lesson the hard way, when I was defeated by this green haired trainer two years ago. Yes work is tiresome, but all the work will be worth it at the end, trust me.” He stood up and looked at the sky. “Trust your pokemon and most importantly yourself. If you work hand in hand together nothing can go wrong.” 

And with that, the strange figure took out a pokeball from his belt and opened it. Fernando couldn’t believe his eyes. It was a Volcarona! But that would mean that this man was…

“See you around buddy!”, said the man and then jumped on the bug type pokemon, who then flew away with the trainer clinging on its back. Fernando watched as the trainer left for a short while and then turned to Talonflame, who eyed him curiously.  
“Come on buddy. We have a gym battle to attend.”

________________________________________________________________

Federico Lux was walking through the streets of Flare City on his way to the gym. He had called Dungelo back, because the ladder was getting too tired from flying, so once they arrived at the city, Lux decided to walk. He already could imagine the disappointment and rage of the trainer, when he tells her that she can’t challenge the gym. However, when he arrived at the gym building, he saw how the girl went past him, with an angry look on her face. Federico tried to say something to her, but she just ignored her and continued her way, with an unconscious Corphish in her arms. Lux eyed her confused. Why was she so mad? And why was Corphish unconscious? All of a sudden, his thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Ha! Better luck next time!”

Lux turned around and to his surprise, he saw Fernando coming out of the gym building smiling. His smile turned into a smirk, when he saw Lux. 

“Hey champ, what took you so long? You should have seen how I defeated her with my Talonflame!”, he boasted proudly. Confused, the champ stepped closer to Fernando. 

“You’re back? But I thought you didn’t want to do your work anymore?”, he asked puzzled. The fire type gym leader smiled sheepishly. 

“Yeah, I’m sorry how I acted earlier Mr. Rico. I’ll promise you, that I won’t neglect my duties as a gym leader anymore! I will never let you down again!”, he stated with determination. Lux still eyed him confused, but then smiled.

“Looks like you finally learned it kid, that’s great! But say, what made you change your mind?”, he asked curiously. Before Fernando could answer, a young boy with a Negamid ran to the gym leader. 

“Mr Leader, me and my Negamid are already very strong! We want to challenge you and prove it to you.”, he said, while the Negamid nodded with vigor. Fernando gave the boy a peace sign.

“Good to know buddy! Follow me and then we can battle!” And with that, the three entered the red building, while the champ stood outside and smiled. The boy finally learned his lesson. He didn’t know how, but it is great to see that he learned it in the first place. 

“Now, our trainers in Ruboria will grow even stronger.”, he thought to himself happily and watched a man on a Volcarona flying through the sky.


	2. Chapter 2: Flaurence

Tales from Ruboria

Chapter 2: Flaurence

It was a beautiful evening on the country fields of Ruboria. The sun was setting down and you could see some Fletchinder flying in the distance. On the field was also a big green farm (which also happened to be a gym). Said farm/gym belonged to an old man, who was working on the field. Well to be honest, working is the wrong word for it, as he was just laying on the grass. He wore a green overall along with a green cap and the man was also slightly overweight. This was Flaurence, the grass type gym leader of Aroma City. But instead of working, the man was just sleeping on the grass, exhausted from the hard work on the field. His somber peace was interrupted, when a voice echoed all of a sudden.

“Hey, Flaurence can I talk to you for a second please?”

The gym leader immediately awoke from his beautiful sleep, rubbed his eyes and then slowly stood up. Federico Lux was standing in front of, wearing a short white shirt and a pair of blue shorts. He eyed the gym leader with curiosity. But the older man only glared at Lux.

“Who the heck are you and why are you here?! Leave, or I’ll send my pokemon on you!”, he demanded. Lux resisted very hard to not release an annoyed groan and instead only chuckled slightly.

“It is me buddy, Federico Lux. I’m just wearing something different for once.”, he replied and clapped a bit. Flaurence's glare disappeared and his face was filled with shame.

“Sorry champ. I didn’t recognize you.”, he replied sadly. He then felt a sudden tap on his shoulder. The old man turned around and saw that it was a Lubileo (the grass starter of the region, who looked like a small lion). Flaurence yelped in shock and then glared again at the pokemon. 

“Who are you? Where’s your trainer!”, he demanded accusingly. Then he recognized the bell on Lubileo's neck and the grass type trainer relaxed again. “Oh it is my Lubileo of course.” Lux only sighed and then stepped forward to the gym leader. 

“Look Flaurence, the reason that I came to you is because of the doctors. “, he stated seriously and it was only now, that the gym leader saw Lux holding a document in his hand. 

The champ handed it to Flaurence, who only took it hesitantly. At first he hesitated, but when the gym leader saw his Lubileo smiling in comfort, he took it and began to read through the document. But as he read on, his hopes dissolved slowly and they vanished completely when he reached the end of the document. He looked at the champ, who eyed at the gym leader sadly.

“I’m sorry, but they couldn’t find a cure. According to the doctors, your prosopagnosia can’t be cured. Your brain will never be able to differentiate different faces.”, he explained, as he gave a sad sigh. “I’m really sorry Flaurence.” The gym leader didn’t respond. He slowly turned around, then let the document fall on the ground, before heading to the red house in the distance. His house. Lux wanted to say something, but for some reason no words came from his mouth. The champ watched for a few seconds Lubileo and Flaurence heading towards their home, before turning around and leaving as well.

With a groan, Flaurence opened the door to his house and entered a small dark corridor. Normally, the gym leader would take off his shoes, but now the only thing that Flaurence wanted was to just lay himself down somewhere. He wanted to go to the stairs and go upstairs, however he heard that the TV was still on. The gym leader must have forgotten to turn it off. With a sigh, the Flaurence went to the door on the right of the dark corridor and opened it. The living room wasn’t exactly a nice place to be. It was dirty, it smelled and the furniture was just awful. Yet, the old gym leader couldn’t bring himself to clean up the place. It reminded him of HER. Flaurence let himself fall on the dusty old couch and then stared at the TV. It was just a news program, but the old man didn’t really pay attention to the program itself. He was rather focused on the news reporter himself. 

His face was completely blank.

He had no nose and no mouth. Normally Flaurence would be quite shocked, but given his prosopagnosia it was hardly frightening to the gym leader. He slowly grabbed the remote and switched from channel to channel, hoping he’d find something that may cheer him up. But it was the same on every channel. 

Blank faces. Even the ones of the pokemon.

With a sigh, the man touched his forehead. He could still feel the big scar that was normally hidden because of his big cap.It slightly hurt, but the gym leader didn’t react to the pain. He yawned slightly, as he looked through the window and saw the dark sky. Flaurence turned off the TV and then went upstairs to his messy room, Lubileo watching concerned from the living room as he left. It was full of plants, but the plants themselves seemed to have lost any life. The man ignored the plants and let himself fall on the mattress on the ground. He struggled for a while to sleep, but in the end his eyes closed and he was on his nice trip to the dreamland.

Oh, what a nice trip indeed.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flaurence was driving in a small car through the streets of Aroma City. The night was setting in and the gym leader was on his way home. He just returned from work from his fruit store and this time, he seemed to have sold quite a lot of his apples. Not only that, but the trainer also happened to win the last few matches! Everything was going great! Now, would be the perfect time to tweet something! 

“I wonder how many followers I got today!”, he thought to himself, while stroking his brown beard with the right hand and holding the wheel with the left hand. Flaurence looked to the passenger seat, where an older grey haired woman sat. She wore a similar attire similar to the gym leader, but it was blue instead of green.That person was Dahlia, Flaurence’s wife and partner. They mostly work together on the fields, to harvest the strawberries for their fruit shop. But the poor woman was rather tired due to working in the shop and she was now asleep. Flaurence looked at his wife and smiled slightly The gym leader took out his phone from his pockets, opened the social media app and began to type. .He knew that it was dangerous to use the phone while driving, but the gym leader was so happy that he didn’t mind. At first, he began to type with only one hand since the other one had to hold the wheel. But then he used his other hand as well, to type the tweet. The man was so focused on his phone and shut himself off from everything around him. Why should he watch out? This day was so great! Nothing bad could possibly happen!

All of a sudden, he heard a loud hoot! The gym leader looked up his phone immediately and saw that he was about to drive in a parked car! Flaurence tried to dodge at the last minute, but…

It was too late.

The vehicle crashed into the silent car and due to the impact, Flaurence’s head was banged on the wheel. With desperation, he looked at his wife and immediately the horror kicked in. Dahlia’s head was also thrown forward on the pillow and some blood came out of her forehead. The man wanted to reach her with his hand, but the consciousness started to disappear. 

“Dah..lia…”, he muttered, before the darkness caught up to him.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With a scream, the grass type's eyes shot wide open and looked around panting. He was still laying in his bed and the moon was shining through the room’s window. The old man sighed. That was the third time that he had the nightmare of this accident. The accident that caused that scar on his forehead. That accident that gave him prosopagnosia. 

That accident that took away his wife.

He lost the one woman he loved in a stupid accident! And why? Because he was careless! If he didn’t look at his phone, his wife would be still alive! Tears began to form under Flaurence’s eyes.

“I lost my wife, all because I was stupid.”, he sobbed as the tears poured down his face. “Dahlia was the love of my life! How should I go on without her?” 

He looked at that one picture above his bed. It contained Flaurence and Dahlia, both sitting in front of their house, while having their arms around each other. The gym leader remembered the day pretty well. They just finished harvesting all the strawberries on the field and both of them decided to take a picture, just because it was such a beautiful day and as a reward for working hard. Flaurence couldn’t remember who took the picture though. Was it the champ? His son? It didn’t matter now, as Florence couldn’t even differentiate his wife’s face from his own on the picture. Both of the faces were blank. 

Thanks to this stupid disease, Flaurence couldn’t really tell the difference between people. For him all voices sound the same and he can’t remember well what people wear. After all, the only person who the gym leader should know how to look is himself! Does he really have to learn how everyone looks? 

“Even if I’d do that, there’s no way I can just remember how they look. My memory is as awful as a Slowbro.”, he thought to himself sadly. 

Just as the tears were starting to return, the gym leader heard some scratching at the door. The man slowly stood up from his bed and went to the door. He opened it and saw that it was Lubileo who stood in front of the door. Flaurence smiled at the sight of his pokemon. 

“Well nice to see you buddy.”, he says warmly. 

But then, he realized that the grass-type pokemon was holding something in his mouth. The grass type gym leader leaned himself closer to the pokemon and saw that it was a small book. Flaurence took it carefully out of the pokemon’s mouth and then started to read through it. All of the pages were empty. Confused, the gym leader looked at his pokemon. 

“What am I supposed to do with this book?”, he asked puzzled, while the pokemon only smiled in response. 

“It’s nothing but a stupid old notebook of mine.”, he continued, while still eyeing the blue book. “How is that supposed to help? You can only write things in there but that’s…” All of a sudden he stopped. Slowly, his frown disappeared and a smile started to grow on the gym leader’s face. 

“Of course..:”, he started. “I can use this book to write down all the attributes of the people I met! That way, I can still recognize them!” With a big smile, he turned to his pokemon.

“Thank you Lubileo. Thanks for being there for me.” 

The grass type pokemon laughed and then pushed himself against Flaurence’s leg. He laughed as well and then petted the small pokemon. He then stood up and looked at the picture of his wife and himself again.

“I’m sorry for what I did to you. From now on, I’m going to be less careless, Dahlia. That is a promise.” 

He then took out a pen from his pocket, opened the book and then started to write everything he knew about the other gym leaders, the champ and every other person he met. Lubileo only watched, as its trainer wrote down names and information in his book, while having a huge smile on his face. A smile , that the pokemon hadn’t seen on the man’s face since two weeks ago. It turned towards the picture and saw how Dahlia was blinking with a smile at the pokemon.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Flaurence? Are you there?”

The voice belonged to Lux, who stood at the door of the grass type gym leader’s house and knocked on it a few times. After the events of yesterday, the champ’s concern over the grass gym leader grew overnight, which is why he decided to visit him. 

“I hope that Flaurence is doing better. Seeing him like this really hurts.”, Federico thought to himself with concern. 

All of a sudden the door opened and Flaurence stood in front of the champ with a blue book in his right hand, along with his Lubilieo standing next to him. The gym leader looked shortly in his book and then looked up to the gym leader with a smile. 

“Ah, Mr. Lux! Nice to see you today! How are you doing?”, he asked joivally. 

The mention of his name made Lux flinch slightly. How did Flaurence figure out it was him? He wore a red shirt and green short pants, unlike yesterday. The grass type gym leader suffered from prosopagnosia and also had a habit of forgetting how people look. So how..?

Lux’ thoughts were interrupted, as Flaurence clapped loudly. 

“Surprised that I recognized you Rico?”, he asked smiling, whereas Federico could only nod in confusion. The grass type gym leader then put the opened book on the champ’s hands, still smiling. With curiosity, the trainer looked over the contents of the notebook. He read the following things.

Federico Lux: Has a relaxed tone of voice, has short hair and likes to dress himself casually.

Next to that, Lux found several other names with information about their appearances. The people listed there were people that the champ knew (like the other gym leaders) and people who Lux didn’t know. Probably Flaurence’s customers. The champ looked up from the book and then eyed the gym leader. The ladder still smiled happily.

“What do you think, Champ? With this, I can remember how people look and therefore ignore my disability to differentiate faces! I can finally move on!”, he exclaimed with joy. He then looked serious on the ground with a frown. 

“What happened on that day with the accident was my fault. I lost my wife and I really miss her.” 

He looked up and smiled again.

“But honestly, I’ll doubt that my dear Dahlia would want to see me like this! I can’t be depressed forever! I need to move on!” 

The champ put a hand on the gym leader’s shoulder and his lips formed a heartful laugh. It was great to see that Flaurence got better. 

“Dahlia, would be proud of you Flaurence. What happened, was an accident but it is great to see that you moved on.” He clapped and then pointed at the gym leader.

“Are you ready to return to your gym again?” With a vigorous nod, the older man smirked. 

“Sure am! After all, old Flaurence needs to show those kids that they still have ways to go!” He looked to Lubileo and both of them started to run off through the fields. Lux watched after them with a content smile. 

“Oh Dahlia, I wonder if you can see your husband now? Do you see how happy he is? I hope that makes you happy as well.”, he said to no one in particular. Lux then took out his pokeball, called Dungelo and then flew on it through the skies of Ruboria.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I hope you like the chapter! Stay tuned for more and thank you for reading this!


	3. Riley

Tales from Ruboria 

Chapter 3: Riley 

The afternoon in the Ruboria Region was quiet and peaceful. The blue sky was shining brightly, you could hear the Chatot singing and see the Combee flying from flower to flower. It was just one normal…

Wooooosh!

...nevermind.

Actually, the afternoon wasn’t quiet at all! A jet was blazing through the sky of Ruboria! It was mostly white and red colored and the head of the plane resembled the one of a Hawlucha. Whoever controlled this machine, certainly seemed to have a lot of fun, as the jet was doing one looping after another! Most people would probably be ditzy from so much flying, but the pilot seemed to be reckless. The plane then went for a short dive, until it reached the big sea where the jet stopped its nosedive and then dashed above the water. The pilot only smiled to themselves as they flew over the sea. Fast and furious, just how they like it! All of a sudden though a big Wailord appeared out of the sea! The pilot managed to dodge the pokemon at the last second, by flying with the jet above the water pokemon. 

"Guess it is time to fly back.", the pilot thought to themselves, as they glanced at a digital clock on the screen. It was 5.34 PM. They made the jet rise again and then enhanced the speed, as they dashed to their landing point, the airport of New Ruboria!

It only took about two minutes, before the pilot could see the big city New Ruboria. There were many buildings, in particular the big Pokémon League Stadium, where Champion Federico Lux usually has his matches against the gym challengers. But that wasn't important. The pilot turned the plane to the left, where the New Ruboria Airport was located. The jet started to sink slightly and the runway came closer and closer. The lever was pulled with carefulness and the jet made contact with the ground, after a loud "Thump!" The jet drove on the landing trip a bit, until it reached the building of the airport. Many reporters stood there, with their cameras aiming at the jet. But a bunch of other people were there as well, mainly teens with a few holding flags with yellow, white purple and black stripes. On said flags was also written stuff like "Go Riley!" and "Riley is the symbol of Freedom!" The pilot smiled and then pulled another lever, which stopped the jet in its tracks. They then opened the cockpit and then stepped out of the jet. The group of reporters took their helmet off, which revealed their face. The pilot was rather short and had short blue hair, with their right ear having a silver colored piercing. The eyes were chocolate brown and the face was rather soft as well. They also wore a blue flying uniform, which really showed their athletic figure. This pilot is actually Riley, the flying type gym leader of the Ruboria region, who just ended one of their daily test flights. With a smile, Riley slowly approached the reporters, who went fastly to the pilot. 

"That was a great flight, Riley! 

"People reported that you almost hit a Wailord! Were you scared?" 

"What is your secret technique?" 

Riley mostly ignored the questions. While it didn't look like it from the outside, they were actually really tired from their flight. What they now needed was a nice and warm shower! Just what they needed after a long hard day full of flying sessions and gym leader battles. Now it was time to… 

"You are so disgusting!" 

The young pilot stopped in their tracks and turned around. A fat reporter who wore nothing but a small pair of blue trousers and a green shirt, stood there with a smirk on his face. Riley masked all the confusion of them, with a big smile as they responded. 

"Disgusting? Me? What do ya mean?", they asked with a soft, but firm voice. The reporter's smirk only became meaner. 

"You are disgusting, because you do not accept your own gender, you Garbodor.", he said, while pulling out a cigarette from his pocket. 

"You have big breasts, your face looks like a girl and you have eyelashes. Why can't I accept that you are a girl?!" 

The gym leader took a deep breath, in order to control their rising anger. 

"Calm yourself Riley. Don't listen to this jerk.", they thought to themselves. The gym leader tilted their head to the left, still smiling. 

"Simple, Mr reporter. I just don't feel like associating myself with a specific gender." The gym leader turned themselves away from the reporter and faced the audience. " 

"Boys, girls, why do we need those labels? You don't need to use one of these terms, if you don't identify with them. Right people?" At that, everyone in the audience shouted a big "Yes!", with some saying: "How dare you being so homophobe, you piece of ****?!” The reporter was unfazed however and chuckled slightly. 

"You know, having people like you in the league really is awful.", he continued cocky. "After all, you do not accept your gender that you are born with and also hang out with that moronic demon Amaya." 

After the man spoke those words, Riley's smile dropped faster than a bird pokemon using Brave Bird. No one had the right to make fun of Amaya, the dark type gym leader of the region and best friend of Riley! They approached the man slowly, while giving him a big glare. 

"Talk about her like that one more time and I'll promise you that you won't leave the hospital for three weeks at the very least.",they threatened venomously. The reporter winced a bit, but was still smirking. 

"Oh yeah? Are all of you LGBTQ people so violent? In my opinion, freaks like you and that dark freak should be executed for being so disgusting! Seriously, you are…. 

However before the fat reporter could continue, he was punched swiftly in the face by Riley. He fell on the ground and rubbed their nose, as blood started to pour out of it. The people who held the flag started to pump their fists in the air, while saying "That offensive person deserved it!" Riley gulped slightly, as they stared nervously at the man. They didn't mean to hit the jerk that hard, so that they could fall unconscious. Heck, the pilot themselves was also surprised by how hard they punched him. But before Riley could apologize, the other reporters rushed to the gym leader immediately. 

"Gym leader, do you always punch people who are offensive?" 

"Is every person, who doesn’t identify with a specific gender, as violent as you, like the fat dude said?" 

"Do you intend to do that to everyone, who hates people of your kind?" 

Riley tried to block out the noise of the reporters and the people holding the flag, in an attempt to calm themselves. 

However that didn't work. 

With no other option in mind, Riley took out a pokeball and opened it. Immediately their Kentler (a small, but sturdy chicken like pokemon that could actually fly) appeared out of the ball, looking confused at the gym leader. The ladder only jumped on the pokemon's back and then whispered their target into Kentler's ear. The pokemon nodded, started to move its wings and then flew away.

If they turned around, Riley may have seen a dark skinned person with a white suit, who stared at the gym leader and their pokemon. 

A few minutes later, Riley saw their small house on the route, east to the town where they were a gym leader. It wasn't a really big house, as it had only one floor and the building itself was colored completely light blue. The gym leader gave Kentler a sign to stop. With a nod, the pokemon flew towards the small house and then landed in front of it. Riley jumped off from the pokemon, recalled it back to the pokeball, took out their keys, opened the white door of the house and then entered it. They immediately went straight to the room on the right, which was more of a fitness room. It basically consisted of a few pairs of dumbell and a big orange punching bag, which stood in the middle of the room. The trainer wasted no time at all and immediately started to punch the big bag. They were completely merciless, as they landed one punch after another without stopping. The punches became harder from second to second and Riley's hands started to hurt, even if they had gloves on. But they didn't stop. They were so mad and frustrated, so beating something up was the best option for Riley. All of a sudden, the trainer felt a warm hand on their shoulder. 

"You really look frustrated buddy."

The gym leader turned around with an annoyed scowl, which disappeared once they saw who it was. 

It was Federico Lux, who looked at the trainer with visible concern. Riley sighed in relief upon seeing the champion, but then stared at him confused. 

"How did you get into my house?", the gym leader asked the champ with a raised eyebrow. 

"Your door was open.", Federico explained smiling. "You really shouldn't forget to close your door Riley. Even though I know that you can take care of yourself, that doesn't mean you can just be reckless."

The man's smile then turned into a frown. 

"That ain't the reason why I'm here though. I saw what happened at the airport and what you did was not right.", he said stern. The gym leader shook their head frantically. 

"He deserved it champ!" they exclaimed angrily. "That fat retard kept insulting me, because I apparently couldn't "accept" my gender. He was incredibly rude and he deserved that hard punch. Why are you defending this swine? What he said was offensive!" 

They glared at the champ with venomous eyes, but Federico remained unfazed. 

"I'm not defending him Riley. What he said was truly offensive, which is why I alerted the authorities. He was given a fair warning not to say anything offensive to your kind, ever again.", he answered calmly and then shook his head. 

" Still, just because he said many mean things doesn't mean that you have to attack them. You do realize that, right?" Riley nodded slightly as they looked on the ground, without facing the champ. 

"Yes I know champ. I know that I shouldn't have punched him, but his insults became worse per second and when he started to insult Maya, I just couldn't control myself anymore.", they said with their voice cracking a bit. Lux put his other hand on their other shoulder and Riley then looked up to Federico. 

"I completely understand you Riley. If someone said mean things about my friends, I would give them a damn good beating.", he replied and chuckled a bit, before his face shifted into a frown. 

"Still, we can't just solve problems with violence. That never helps much. Because of your actions, most reporters believe that you are violent." The gym leader looked horrified and then frantically shook their head. 

"But that isn't true! I'm not violent, I just got provoked by this piece of Muk! What else should I have done in that situation?!"

Lux smiled again, which irritated the gym leader even more. But before they could shout at him, Lux held his hands up. 

"Calm yourself ok? You really need to learn how to stay more calm and collected. Riley, why did you answer that reporter in the first place? Just ignore him. Stay calm.", he replied simply. 

"I can't just stay calm champ!", the gym leader said with a frown. "Riley + calm just don't add up!" Lux looked at Riley for a few seconds, then nodded. 

"It seems as if you'd need some break. So, how about you take one tomorrow?", he proposed." Riley was quiet for a few seconds then sighed and shook their head. 

"Champ, I can't just take a break tomorrow. What about my test flights and my pokemon gym? I can't just ignore that." Lux only clapped with a smile on his dark tanned face. 

"Hey, don't worry ‘bout a thing. You don't have to do your test flights every single day. As for the gym, no worries! I'll take it over for the rest of tomorrow.", he replied chuckling

"Do whatever you want tomorrow. Work out, go for a walk, spend time with your friends, do everything you want! And don't worry about anything!" With that, Lux turned around, left the room and a few seconds later the sound of the door closing was heard. Left was a flabbergasted Riley. 

"He actually gave me a day off. Was that really a good idea?",they thought to themselves, while playing with their lip. A smile slowly appeared on the gym leader's face. 

"Why am I asking that? I can finally do something else, other than flying in that smelly jet and training those pesky flying pokemon. Not that I hate them, but I really need a break from them." They took their cell phone out of their pocket and then started to press the digital buttons. 

"And I just know what to do tomorrow.", they said to themselves with a blush on their face. 

The Next Day

Riley tapped their feet impatiently, as they waited for her to come to the plaza of New Ruboria. It was a sunny Friday morning and the gym leader just wanted to spend that day with their friend. 

"Where is she?", they asked themselves with slight frustration. "It's been 20 minutes after the assigned time. We were supposed to be here around 9 am, but she isn't here yet." Riley took out their phone, but before they could make a call, they were interrupted by a soft voice. 

"Sorry for being so late. I forgot to set my alarm clock."

The pilot turned around and saw a girl approaching the gym leader. Their hair was as orange as a pumpkin, which were complemented by the blue eyes. She wore a snow-white dress as well, that had some purple markings around the torso. That person was Amaya, the dark type gym leader of the Ruboria region. Upon seeing them, Riley gave a small sigh and forgot their frustration. 

"Maya, it's so great to see you! You can't believe how glad I am to spend time with you!", they said happily. The dark type gym leader chuckled slightly. 

"You certainly look more happy than my Hydreigon, when it slowly kills its prey. Certainly beautiful.", they replied giggling. When Riley looked at her though, the gym leader stopped. 

"What's wrong Ri?", they asked puzzled. The pilot only shook their head and smiled. They still hadn't gotten used to the girl's love for sadism, even after one year. 

"Oh it's nothing, really!", they replied hastily with an embarrassed smile. Before Amaya could ask again however, Riley quickly changed topics. 

"Anyways, how about we go to that one ice cream café, Vaniluream?", Riley asked the red haired girl. The ladder began to smile sweetly. 

"That certainly sounds appetizing. Ice Cream may not be the best for breakfast, but it is certainly delicious. And with your presence, this will certainly be a beautiful event." Riley blushed heavily and got afraid that Amaya would comment on that. However, the ladder simply smiled. 

"Shall we go Ri?", she asked the pilot politely. Said pilot nodded heavily. 

"Yes we should go."

And with that, the two friends made themselves on their way to the Ice Cream Café. 

A few seconds later, Riley and Amaya reached the Vaniluream Ice Café. It was a small white building with a big symbol of a Vanilluxe being engraved above the door. The two went in and then sat themselves at a small table next to the big glass window. The Café was relatively empty, save for a young tanned waiter who immediately left the counter and went to the two girls. 

"Welcome to the Vaniluream. May I take your order?", he asked politely. 

"I'd like some spaghetti ice cream.", said Amaya politely. 

"And for me, a cone of Chocolate please.",added Riley. They expected that the waiter would say something, however the man just started at the flying type trainer. That irritated the pilot. 

"Something wrong?", they asked more harshly and annoyedly than they intended to. The waiter shook his head and gave an awkward laugh. 

"Oh no, nothings wrong!"he replied embarrassed. "Stay calm, I'll get your order immediately!" With that, the waiter ran to the counter and then disappeared behind the counter. Amaya gave her friend a confused glance. 

"That man seemed rather afraid of you. Did you meet him before?", she asked and eyed her colleague slightly. The pilot shook their head. 

"No that's not it. He just seems to be afraid of me, because of what I did yesterday.", they replied and gave a sigh. 

"What did you do yesterday Ri? Did something bad happen?" Riley looked away guilty. Should they tell their friend of what happened yesterday? Riley didn't want Amaya to see them as a violent person, but the dark type trainer was their friend! All of a sudden, they felt a hand on their body and Riley was immediately ripped from their thoughts. They blinked a bit and then saw that Amaya put a hand on the shoulder of the gym leader, smiling in comfort. 

"Come on, what are you waiting for? As your friend, you can tell me anything that is on your mind.", she said softly. "Just tell me your problem and I'll do the best of my ability to tell you. You can bet on that."

Riley hesitated for a second, but then nodded. Although the gym leader couldn't tell their friend everything, they supposed that they may as well be frank, on what happened yesterday. They took a deep breath and then Riley told Amaya about their encounter with the rude reporter. However, they left out that the reporter made fun of Amaya, since that may have hurt the soft gym leader. The ladder listened carefully to her friend, while eying them carefully. After Riley was finished, Amaya looked at her colleague concerned. 

"So he made fun of you, because you neither identify yourself as a girl nor boy? And because of his insults you punched him. Right?", she asked for clarification. Riley nodded slightly. 

"Yeah, that's how it went. Because of my actions, everyone believes now that I'm violent and If I don't change that, everyone may believe that people like me are violent. I need to do something, but I don't know what.", they said, with a frown. 

Amaya put her finger on the chin for a few seconds and then smiled. 

" I believe you may need to learn how to stay more calm Ri. If you can learn to not be provoked by anything offensive, then those bad people are powerless against you.", she said smiling. Riley only groaned in annoyance though. 

"But I am calm! I'm Riley, the peaceful ruler of the sky. I'm always calm.", they pouted, which made Amaya giggle. 

"Your attempts at denying the truth is just pathetic, but the pouting was certainly adorable.", she retorted with a playful smirk, while Riley felt their cheeks getting warm. Amaya laughed slightly and then rubbed the blue hair of the gym leader. 

"And how am I supposed to stay calm then, oh wise mistress of the dark?", they asked sarcastically, which made the gym leader chuckle. 

"It is simple, beautiful mistress of the flight.", she said simply. "Think of something that will lift your spirits up. Like the pokemon of an opponent, who screams in agony as it gets hit by Dark Pulse. That is certainly wondrous." 

"Well, I won't think of suffering pokemon, but I do believe that your idea can work. I just need to think of something else.", they replied, while chuckling embarrassed. 

Before Amaya could reply to that remark however, the waiter returned and placed the spaghetti ice cream and the chocolate cone on the table, without even looking at Riley. He then disappeared quickly into the kitchen, while the flying type gym leader rolled their eyes in annoyance. 

"I better come up with something fast or else my situation won't improve.", they said frustrated. Amaya took another bite from her spaghetti ice and then smiled at the gym leader. 

"Well since my earlier suggestion was a fluke, how about thinking of a calm melody? Music helps wonders, as they say." To the disappointment of the orange haired girl, Riley shook their head. 

"I'm not really into calm music. I prefer wild and loud one. Though that kind of music always pumps me up so that's outta the question then.", they replied simply. 

Amaya then began to think again. What could possibly calm down her friend?Amaya thought as hard as shecould, but everything that she usually thought of, didn't really fit Riley's character. As she continued to dwell in her thoughts, the gym leader had an idea. 

"Why do you not try to think of the punching bag, in order to calm yourself down?", Amaya suggested. Riley eyed their friend confused. 

"Thinking of my punching bag? Why should I do that?", they asked puzzled. Amaya put a finger on her chin. 

"Well, I remember that you once used the punching bag to calm yourself down, after your loss against Roland the water-type gym leader. You punched it so hard, that your hands bled." Riley groaned at the mention of this memory. 

"Please don't remind me that this conspiracy idiot beat me.", they said, but then Riley started to think. It was true that pummeling the punching bag was a good way to calm themselves down. Releasing all your negative emotions was so refreshing after all. It felt good every time their fists hit the bag with all their power. It made the gym leader feel… 

Calm. 

Riley began to smile. Their friend noticed the change of expression and smiled as well. 

"I'm assuming that this is the solution to your problem?", she asked. The gym leader nodded vigorously. 

“I did! Thanks for your help Maya, I’ll see you later!”

Riley wanted to run out of the Café, but Amaya’s soft hand held their arm.

“Ri, I do not believe that you should leave, before you haven’t even eaten your ice cream yet.”, she says with a sweat. The gym leader stopped in their tracks and smiled sheepishly at the dark type gym leader.

“Sorry, my bad. I was just so happy.”, they explained. That made Amaya chuckle. 

"You always act without thinking. That quality may be a bit annoying, but it also makes you charming.", she said and then continued to eat her ice cream as if nothing happened. 

Riley sighed, but then started to eat their chocolate ice as well. Time passed as they ate, told each other about recent gym battles and laughed, as they enjoyed the time at the café. When the time came to pay, the waiter did look a few times at Riley nervously. However, the pilot didn’t mind and they even gave the man a smile as the two gym leaders left Vaniluream. 

However, as they left the café, the pair of trainers were in for a surprise. A big crowd of reporters has gathered around the building, with most of them being the same ones from yesterday. Amaya looked surprised at the crowd of people and then leaned herself towards the pilot. 

"What is that big crowd doing here?", she whispered to her friend in confusion.

Riley gritted their teeth slightly and turned around, to see the nervous waiter of Vaniluream holding a cellphone. 

"That bastard must have called the press, while he was gone.", they thought to themselves angrily. 

The pilot felt as if they were about to explode, but only gave the man a false sweet smile, that made the snitch gulp in fear, as he immediately closed the door to his establishment. All of a sudden, Amaya ran behind Riley and used the pilot as a hiding spot. The pilot was at first confused, but before they could ask what was going on, a flash of a camera surprised the gym leader. 

"Of course! I completely forgot Amaya dislikes the press.", they thought to themselves and looked behind to their friend. The ladder was shaking in fear and her hands gripped the gym leader's shoulder. Riley gave the dark type trainer a comforting smile and then they turned themselves towards the crowd. 

"Riley, is it true that you and the dark type gym leader Amaya are a couple?" 

"Did you take your girlfriend out on a date, gym leader Riley?" 

"When will you admit that you two love each other?"

Those questions were asked by several of the reporters from different news stations. Amaya blushed slightly at the questions, which was unaware to the pilot. The ladder at first, wanted to deny any of those statements. But then they realize what happened yesterday. They needed to stay calm. Riley closed their eyes and began to imagine themselves punching the punching bag mercilessly. They landed one punch after another, without feeling the pain. Riley's breath slowed itself down and then they opened their eyes again. They turned around to Amaya, who was still shivering in fear. 

"Let's just go, okay Maya?", Riley proposed smiling softly. The dark type gym leader nodded hastily in response. The pair started to leave and made their way through the big crowd of reporters. However, just as they almost almost managed to leave the crowd, a familiar voice interrupted them. 

"Ha! I knew I was right!"

The pair turned around and Riley's calm immediately disappeared. 

It was the fat reporter from yesterday! Apart from a bandage wrapped around his nose, he looked the same as always. The same clothes, the same fat figure… 

… and that same arrogant smirk, that Riley wanted to punch away. 

The man smirked, as he pulled out a pen from his pocket. 

"I was right all along! You two freaks really are in love! My god, our region is such a waste now, with two abominations being gym leaders! I really find it sad, how the champ can't see the truth about your ugliness.", he said and then pointed at Amaya. 

"I mean look at her! We have a sadistic dark type gym leader that loves the suffering of pokemon! Not only that, but she likes girls! How disgusting!" 

Riley slowly felt their rage boiling and Amaya was close to crying. However the reporter wasn't finished and pointed at Riley as well. 

"But you are the biggest freak of them all! A human being that can't accept their own gender and likes girls as well? You are so disgusting!" 

Riley's fist slowly trembled and the gym leader was ready to beat the reporter to a bloody pulp. 

However, before they could do so, Amaya's small hand held the pilot's wrist. 

" Stay calm Ri.", she said softly. There's no need to lose your composure because of that idiot. Punch the bag. Just punch it. "

Riley wanted to slap themselves. How could they forget a lesson, that they just applied a few seconds ago? The gym leader closed their eyes and again, imagined punching the bag. 

One, two, three four, one, two, three four

Riley's heartbeat slowed down. 

One, two, three four, one, two, three four

The rage disappeared… 

One, two, three four, one, two, three four

And the calm returned. 

Riley took the hand of Amaya, who seemed to be taken a bit off guard and then began to leave the crowd. The fat reporter looked shocked, as the two were leaving. 

"Hey, where do you think you're going!", they exclaimed angrily. "You freaks can't leave yet! Freaks aren't allowed to ignore an order of a human! Freaks aren't-" 

However, all of a sudden the reporter felt a big hand on his shoulder. The crowd gasped and so did the reporter, once he saw who stood there. 

It was Federico Lux, his blonde hair shone brightly in the noon sun and his chocolate dark skin fit well to his white and red suit. However unlike usual the champ was glaring at the fat man, as he was towering over the reporter.. 

"You certainly have a lot of nerve offending my disciples.", he said slowly, his frown getting deeper. 

"I'm pretty sure that I gave you a warning yesterday, to not say those things again. But you didn't listen and now you'll face the consequences."

With that, a woman came behind Lux. It was Rica, the boss of the fat reporter. She glared at the man, who trembled even more now. 

"Congratulations.", she said sarcastically. "You just won a permanent vacation Mr. Miller." 

The man in question looked down guiltily.   
To say that he messed up was an understatement. 

\--------------------------------------------------------

Riley and Amaya both ignored the ruckus behind them, as they slowly went through the streets of New Ruboria. They saw a bench and sat down on it, while Riley was still holding Amaya's hand. 

"That was great! I didn't lose my composure, once! And it's all thanks to you Maya!", Riley exclaimed happily, which made the other gym leader chuckle. 

"Oh no, that was all your doing. I didn't calm you down. That was all your doing.", they replied, but Riley shook their head and smiled. They then wrapped their arms around the girl and pulled them into a big hug. 

"No I mean it. If you weren't with me, I would have already lost my composure. Thanks for being there for me.", they said softly. That made the other gym leader smile as well. 

"I-t is alway-s l-lovely to be t-there with you as well Ri,but can you p-p-please stop that? I'm lo-s-sing air", she groaned slightly annoyed, but happy at the same time. Riley chuckled and then let go of the girl. 

"Sorry there, Maya.", they chuckled embarrassed and then stood up. 

"Now what should we do next? We still have a whole day, ahead of us." Amaya only shrugged. 

"I would do anything, as long as it is with you Ri.", she answered and the pilot felt their cheeks burning up. 

"W-well how about we go to the cinema and watch a movie then? I heard that a new movie of Riolu Kid was released, so what do you think?" Amaya stood up as well and nodded. 

"That would be lovely. Let's go then, shall we?" And with that, the dark type gym leader took the hand of Riley, who didn't protest in the slightest and the two walked away hand in hand, with a smile on each of their faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yh, sorry for taking so long to publish that chapter. I was really busy and all, but now it is done. 
> 
> Anyway I hope you liked the chapter! Stay tuned for more!


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